Speed with Guy Martin - new series

[V8RX7]

227bhp said:

It does seem to be turning into the program 'Guy fails at doing stuff'.

You either do one thing properly or a lot of things badly.

This ^^^

In his first series he clearly had more time, he's a racer, it must be frustrating him to keep failing but I suppose he consoles himself by counting the money.

[Richard-390a0]

The Surveyor said:

mat205125 said:

227bhp said:

V8RX7 said:

mat205125 said:

People need to understand the difference between an entertainment programme which has been created to appeal to a mass audience, which has the subject matter of a man, a van, a track, and a record, compared to a legitimate attempt at a Guiness record, with an absolute devotion to performance. The latter is not necessarily conducive to a mass audience entertainment show, no matter how much more fascinating we'd find it!

I'm simply comparing this current programme to the earlier ones he made.

In comparison this is st - failed on the salt due to tyres, 10 minutes on google would have told them that.

Yes this ^^
I did think why the heck did you go all that way without doing some research? It must have cost umpteen thousands to get it out there just to fail on something simple like that. Surely they could have sourced some wheels whilst they were there too.

Probably did cost umpteen thousand to do, however Channel 4 would have made many more umpteens back from the programme, and at the end of the day, if you were in the country and had the chance to have a go on the salt why wouldn't you?

It's a TV show!!!

And not forgetting they already had the van (on road tyres) in the states to run that high-speed road time trial, on road tyres. It looked to me that the Bonneville attempt was just an opportunity taken whilst they were out there last time which is why they were so limited. They certainly didn't ship the mid-engine van out there specifically to have a go on the salt.

To me it looks like they (tv bods) want to build a series / box set out of this. First we had the road based high speed challenge in the U.S previously & then this show with the failed Bonneville attempt (so there's something for them to revisit) & then we should've had the fastest van round the ring & then fastest top speed in a van that they didn't do due to the turbo oil pipe coming loose (so there's another programme for a later date).

[Clockwork Cupcake]

V8RX7 said:

but I suppose he consoles himself by counting the money.

If he was interested in money, he would jack in his job as a lorry mechanic and say "yes" to doing Top Gear. Since he hasn't, it's reasonable to assume that money is not his motivation in life.

[The Surveyor]

Clockwork Cupcake said:

V8RX7 said:

but I suppose he consoles himself by counting the money.

If he was interested in money, he would jack in his job as a lorry mechanic and say "yes" to doing Top Gear. Since he hasn't, it's reasonable to assume that money is not his motivation in life.

I would agree 100%, although it does beg the question what is his motivation.

When he was riding at the TT, his motivation was to win, it was year after year of putting his body on the line (like all the rider do) to chip away at his personal best and to do better than his rivals. He's now making entertainment programmes in between his day job, good entertaining programmes but i'm struggling to work out what's in it for Guy Martin. Given his past, you would have though he would be pushing to ensure he goes beyond the current format to really push the envelope on his challenges.

I understand what other are saying on that aspect, just getting 1 hour to set up the van and take on the 'ring record shouldn't be enough for Martin, he should be pushing the scope of his contract to fund a proper attempt. "I'll only do it if I can do it properly" type approach, anything else then it looks like he is only doing it for the money.

[youngsyr]

It's not that he's even giving it a half-hearted effort; he's doing barely more than the absolute minimum on site to attempt the record. When you have to sit through apparently months of offsite preparation, then they turn up and give it 5 minutes to actually attempt the record, often in inclement weather, then what's the point?

At least this time it wasn't peeing it down, I guess.

[InfoRetrieval]

I was a bit disappointed by the programme too, considering that Sabine Schmitz did a 10:08 lap in a 136bhp standard transit on skinny tyres...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KiC03_wVjc

I found the Top Gear segment more exciting too.

[EDLT]

So did everyone miss the part where he only did one lap, because of the fire. I guess this is what happens when you fast forward through everything.

[V8RX7]

EDLT said:

So did everyone miss the part where he only did one lap, because of the fire. I guess this is what happens when you fast forward through everything.

No see my earlier comment on piss poor preparation and this was after failing at the salt for the same reason.

[LordHaveMurci]

V8RX7 said:

EDLT said:

So did everyone miss the part where he only did one lap, because of the fire. I guess this is what happens when you fast forward through everything.

No see my earlier comment on piss poor preparation and this was after failing at the salt for the same reason.

It's been mentioned that the salt attempt wasn't planned so they can hardly be blamed for that rolleyes:

Not sure how the oil pipe equates to piss poor planning either, sometimes these things happen don't they?

[V8RX7]

LordHaveMurci said:

It's been mentioned that the salt attempt wasn't planned so they can hardly be blamed for that rolleyes:

Not sure how the oil pipe equates to piss poor planning either, sometimes these things happen don't they?

It was planned enough to get the entire crew there !

No these things don't just happen, they only happen when either the wrong pipe is used or it isn't fitted correctly - which should then be picked up in testing.

[thegreenhell]

V8RX7 said:

LordHaveMurci said:

It's been mentioned that the salt attempt wasn't planned so they can hardly be blamed for that rolleyes:

Not sure how the oil pipe equates to piss poor planning either, sometimes these things happen don't they?

It was planned enough to get the entire crew there !

The van and the whole crew was already there for the Nevada road race from the last show. I don't know where they flew into, but if it was Salt Lake City then they they would have driven right across the salt flats to get back to the airport. It was hardly a major detour to do the speed attempt.

[CoolHands]

Once you’re doing it for tv companies I think it’s a whole different ball game. They’ve a schedule and they’re not interested in quality of engineering they want go faster fun. It’s showbiz as someone above said. You cast around for an idea that will look good on telly, and work towards that. It’s different from the cameras following you because of what you’re doing in the first place, it’s role reversal.

[Clockwork Cupcake]

CoolHands said:

Once you’re doing it for tv companies I think it’s a whole different ball game. They’ve a schedule and they’re not interested in quality of engineering they want go faster fun. It’s showbiz as someone above said. You cast around for an idea that will look good on telly, and work towards that. It’s different from the cameras following you because of what you’re doing in the first place, it’s role reversal.

Yup. Very much a case of the tail wagging the dog.

[227bhp]

Clockwork Cupcake said:

V8RX7 said:

but I suppose he consoles himself by counting the money.

If he was interested in money, he would jack in his job as a lorry mechanic and say "yes" to doing Top Gear. Since he hasn't, it's reasonable to assume that money is not his motivation in life.

The motivation is money, he wants to keep one leg in reality though. He knows he hasn't the personality for TG, it would be like watching a train crash.

[Blib]

Has he done a "World's Fastest Train Crash" one......?

[ibisti]

If you read any of his books it will give you another insight into his motivations, and there are a few. He does seem a bit conflicted at times but then again I get the idea his brain doesnt work in a traditional manner as he is open about his form of Autism ( which he also mocks as people having to label everything these days). Much of what he does are personal interests for him that he can get others to pay for, in his words, that he would probably never get to do for love or money. He also seems to take bit of equipment in lew of payment such as a tractor instad of money for one of the speed programs, and loads of Snapon kit to furnish his workshop for his sponsorship with them. He then put the tractor out for work for additional income ( some of which he does himself like potato picking and muck spreading)

[Clockwork Cupcake]

227bhp said:

The motivation is money, he wants to keep one leg in reality though. He knows he hasn't the personality for TG, it would be like watching a train crash.

I don't completely agree. I think this post is pretty bang on the money:

ibisti said:

If you read any of his books it will give you another insight into his motivations, and there are a few. He does seem a bit conflicted at times but then again I get the idea his brain doesnt work in a traditional manner as he is open about his form of Autism ( which he also mocks as people having to label everything these days). Much of what he does are personal interests for him that he can get others to pay for, in his words, that he would probably never get to do for love or money. He also seems to take bit of equipment in lew of payment such as a tractor instad of money for one of the speed programs, and loads of Snapon kit to furnish his workshop for his sponsorship with them. He then put the tractor out for work for additional income ( some of which he does himself like potato picking and muck spreading)

Guy is a bit of an odd one, for sure. I think he would be a popular choice for Top Gear, and he has been approached several times apparently, but he is self-aware enough to know he wouldn't enjoy it or be good at it. So on that point I agree with you, 227bhp.

[mat205125]

The Surveyor said:

Clockwork Cupcake said:

V8RX7 said:

but I suppose he consoles himself by counting the money.

If he was interested in money, he would jack in his job as a lorry mechanic and say "yes" to doing Top Gear. Since he hasn't, it's reasonable to assume that money is not his motivation in life.

I would agree 100%, although it does beg the question what is his motivation.

When he was riding at the TT, his motivation was to win, it was year after year of putting his body on the line (like all the rider do) to chip away at his personal best and to do better than his rivals. He's now making entertainment programmes in between his day job, good entertaining programmes but i'm struggling to work out what's in it for Guy Martin. Given his past, you would have though he would be pushing to ensure he goes beyond the current format to really push the envelope on his challenges.

I understand what other are saying on that aspect, just getting 1 hour to set up the van and take on the 'ring record shouldn't be enough for Martin, he should be pushing the scope of his contract to fund a proper attempt. "I'll only do it if I can do it properly" type approach, anything else then it looks like he is only doing it for the money.

I'd speculate that a strong part of his motivation is to make use of the opportunity that's presented itself to him to get out and "have a go" at a load of different activities and experiences.

The short features relating to him and his visit to Judd to look at the Cosworth DFV build shows his huge passion and fascination for all things mechanical. He's access to thrills and equipment through the TV work which is simply not an option for a truck mechanic that also races bikes.

Good on ya, lad!!!